High School Dork and College Nerd
by laveniis
Summary: Ivan wants a boyfriend, so, he goes to his friend Alfred who arranges a meeting with their other friend Kiku's cousin, Yao. Ivan doesn't actually know that Yao is two years older than him and an A grade college student. RoChu/ChuRo (to be specific...) May become M in later chapters? Who knows.
1. Chapter 1

**ok im going to try and write a story with many chapters just bear with me because im not very reliable. ... anyway in this fic yao is going to be two years older than ivan. ivan will be 17 and yao is going to be 19. ivan is in highschool still and yaos in college, but when they meet they just assume that the other is in highschool/college**

**the pairings that will probably come into the story will be:**

**rochu (duh)**

**ameripan**

**fruk**

**gerita**

**and maybe pruhun im not sure**

**so yeah i dont know how often ill update but we will see...**

**all characters belong to himaruya hidekaz**

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Ivan was incredibly awkward. There was no doubt about that. In fact; he was so awkward he had ended up going to his friend-but-not-friend, Alfred, for advice on getting a date. He was 17 for goodness sakes! He was one year off from being 18 and he still had never been in a romantic relationship. Of course the reason he was having so much trouble might be because he liked boys, rather than girls. Ivan was pretty sure Alfred liked guys too, so he supposed he was the best person to ask about this sort of thing.

Slowly he knocked on Alfred's door, waiting for the annoying American to appear at the door. It only took a couple of seconds for him to arrive, the door being opened and Alfred's bright and childish face appearing.

"Oh, Ivan! What are you doing here, man? You've come to try and turn me into a communist, right?" Alfred exclaimed, opening the door a little to let Ivan in. The tallest of the pair walked in, shooting Alfred a somewhat innocent glare.

"For the last time, I am not a communist just because I'm Russian, alright?" he grumbled, pushing Alfred somewhat gently but aggressively at the same time. The blue eyed boy laughed, shutting the door behind Ivan and telling him to make himself at home.

"You just want me to think that, don't you?" Alfred scoffed; pretty much jumping onto his couch and watching Ivan sit beside him like a normal person. "Okay, seriously though, what do you want?"

Ivan took a moment to look down, scratch his face in embarrassment and then let out a long sigh. "I was wondering if you could tell me how to get a boyfriend," he looked away as soon as he asked, face heating up. Alfred let out some sort of shocked laugh, Ivan couldn't really tell because it sounded stupid and Alfred always sounded stupid to him.

"A-A boyfriend? Why did you come and ask me about this? Are you saying that I'm...?" Alfred trailed off, glancing towards the wall of his living room.

"Oh come on, I've seen how you start acting around Kiku. I'm not as stupid as you seem to think I am," Ivan huffed, brushing some strands of hair from his face. Alfred turned red at the mention of his _friend_ Kiku, laughing nervously. Ivan watched him fix his glasses and bite his lip. He let out a soft sigh. "If you can't help me, I'll just leave." he went to stand up.

"Wait, Ivan... ah... I guess I could help you, somehow..." Alfred was so embarrassed; he couldn't believe that this conversation was even happening right now. He and Ivan were not the closest friends, but if Ivan was coming to him for help he supposed that the Russian respected him somewhat. "I'm not sure what type of advice to give you, but, pick out someone you like. Maybe someone not from our school, get to know them and just be yourself." he kept nervously playing with his glasses every few seconds, unable to look Ivan in the eyes.

Ivan tilted his head in confusion at Alfred's words. Be himself? Was it actually that easy? Well, this was all a waste of time, he thought to himself. He supposed he better thank Alfred for his help, anyway. He actually did stand this time, giving Alfred a small smile, a thankful one.

"Thank you Alfred, I appreciate your advice." he gave him a quick wave, then turned and walked from the couch towards the door.

"Hey Ivan, Kiku said his cousin recently broke up with his last boyfriend, maybe you should get to know him?" Alfred called after him, awkwardly stumbling after him before he reached the door and left. Ivan stopped at these words, creasing his brow. He guessed that meeting Kiku's cousin wasn't a bad idea. If they didn't hit off, at least then he had tried to get some relationship going with him.

"What's his name?" Ivan asked, turning to face Alfred, curiosity all over his face. If he was Kiku's cousin, surely he had be really down to earth and calm like him? He could only hope so; he didn't really want to end up with someone like Alfred. That would be very annoying.

Alfred took a moment to think, blinking slowly and trying to recall the name of young man in question.

"I'm pretty sure Kiku said his name is Yao or something like that... or maybe it was Wang?" Alfred snorted, laughing into his hand and causing Ivan to roll his eyes at his childish behaviour. "Wang! Ivan that's funny, come on, laugh with me!" he giggled, trying to calm himself down. Ivan just shook his head.

"Okay so, Yao? That's a nice name. I hope he's nothing like you." Ivan huffed quietly, crossing his arms. Alfred looked offended slightly, but just went to smiling stupidly as he always did.

"Hang around for a little longer, alright? I'll give Kiku a call and ask him to ask Yao if he wants to meet you!" the American hummed, pulling out his mobile phone and quickly dialling his Japanese friend's number. Ivan sighed, sitting down on the couch again, looking around as if he was absent minded. "Yo, Kiku," Alfred said into the phone, smiling at the sound of the call being answered.

"_Do you need something, Alfred? I'm kind of busy right now..."_ Kiku's always strangely calm voice hummed.

"Yeah! Hey, you know your cousin, the Wang one?" Alfred asked, starting to laugh again.

"_His name is Yao." _Kiku huffed, making Alfred start to laugh more. _"What about him? Do you need something from him?"_

"I suppose. I was wondering if we could get Ivan and Yao to meet! You see, Ivan wants to try and get a boyfriend and I told him that your cousin digs guys!" he adjusted his glasses slightly, talking excitedly into the phone like a little kid. Alfred heard Kiku let out a quiet sigh, then fall silent as he was likely thinking about it.

"_I will ask Yao if he wants to meet some friends, alright. I won't tell him it's a scheme to set him up with Ivan." _Alfred's face lit up, and he turned to Ivan nodding childishly. Kiku hung up the phone, obviously so he could call Yao to ask him. Alfred and Ivan were left awkwardly waiting for Kiku to call back for about five minutes.

Ivan was ecstatic; he really hoped this Yao was really cute! Hopefully not someone who was too manly, nothing like Alfred, and just really cute! Hopefully he'd be shorter than him, too. He was one of the tallest boys at school, which of course ended up with people being scared and intimidated by him. Ivan really hoped that Yao would not be frightened of him upon meeting.

Kiku finally called Alfred back a moment later.

"_Yao said he's willing to meet you and Ivan tomorrow. Come over at about eleven, Alfred." _and with that, Kiku didn't even say goodbye, and just hung up. Alfred put his phone away, turning to Ivan and smiling brightly.

"Kiku said that Yao will meet us tomorrow! So, Ivan, just come over tomorrow before half past ten and we'll go over to Kiku's, and you can meet Yao!" he said cheerfully, walking over to Ivan and patting his shoulder. "I'm sure you and Yao will get along just fine!" Ivan nodded weakly.

"I hope so... what if he's scared of me though?" Ivan mumbled, slumping against the back of the couch. Alfred sighed softly and frowned.

"Even if he is scared, show him you're not a scary guy. Because you're not scary, quite the opposite, really," Alfred muttered, glancing to the wall. "Now, get out of here before your communist aura rubs off on me!" he exclaimed, pointing at him dramatically. He obviously changed his behaviour because the air between them was getting way too friendly. Ivan rolled his eyes.

"I was going to leave anyway, I was afraid I might become like you. Goodbye Alfred, see you tomorrow, I suppose." Ivan shrugged, shuffling towards the door and taking his leave.

As he walked home, he couldn't rid himself of the excitement he felt. If everything went well, he would be able to get into a relationship! Of course as he walked slowly in thought, he began to freak out silently because he realised he had never kissed anyone before. Or held hands, or hugged in a romantic way.

In fact, he was probably going to be some sort of innocent virgin in Yao's eyes!

He ran a hand through his hair nervously, looking at the ground as he walked. Also, what if Yao just didn't like him? Oh no, what if Yao liked Alfred more? All these possibilities sounded like a nightmare to Ivan!

Ivan was absolutely terrified, no doubt about it.


	2. Chapter 2

**i cant believe i actually managed to write a second chapter this is amazing wow ehhe sorry if this chapter is a bit boring i just felt as if i should talk about ivan a bit more and try not to make the story progress too fast ;m;**

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Ivan stepped inside his home, looking around curiously to see if his sisters were home. Katyusha worked to support the family, and he always found himself forgetting when she had her shifts and when she was going be at home. While his younger sister Natalya, was usually at home. She didn't really have that many friends because people were likely frightened by her, just like a lot of people were afraid of him.

Of course, people were only afraid of Ivan because of his height and creepy behaviour he exhibited at times. Natalya was actually very spooky at times. But Ivan was used to her and her strange and kind of scary nature didn't really bother him. The only thing that really bothered him was the strange fascination she seemed to have with him. And by fascination, Ivan meant that Natalya was in love with him to an extent. It really bothered him at times because she knew he was, well, into guys. Also, the crush was super adorable when she was tiny, but now it was just incredibly weird. But he couldn't deny that he loved her with all his heart, as he was her big brother.

He guessed that Katyusha wasn't home yet because after surveying most of the house she was nowhere to be seen. But he could hear the television going and knew that Natalya was likely in the lounge room watching one of her romantic dramas that she loved so much. She would constantly try to get him to watch them with her, but he would always decline saying he had too much homework. That was a lie, of course, as he didn't want to watch those silly shows.

He peered into the lounge room, his suspicions being confirmed as he saw his younger sister lying on the couch, watching some really dramatic looking television show. Ivan said a quick hello, before moving back into the hallway and heading for his bedroom. As silly as it was, he was going to pick out what he was going to wear to Kiku's house tomorrow. He had to make a good impression on this Yao guy! He shuffled into his bedroom, shutting the door behind himself. Ivan sighed softly, running a hand through his hair and then walking over to his wardrobe.

Did he even have any good clothes? His choice of clothing was usually nothing but sweaters or over sized jumpers and jeans. He was like a little kid! After a moment he tapped his chin, a playful smirk upon his face. Ivan supposed that dressing in something as over sized jumpers or sweaters would seem incredibly adorable to some, and if he was lucky maybe Yao would appreciate it. Ivan was pretty sure Kiku was secretly obsessed with really cutesy type animes; perhaps Kiku's cousin was similar? He could only hope.

Ivan rummaged around for a bit, making a bit of mess whilst he searched through his clothes. Eventually, he decided on a light blue jumper and just any pair of jeans he saw first. He let out a tired sigh, sitting on his bed for a moment and thinking about everything like he almost always did. Ivan really did hope this Yao was a nice person, and would treat him nicely.

Most of Ivan's school life he had been bullied and labelled a creep. It hurt his feeling a lot to begin with, but soon enough he just embraced the title of _school creep_. Of course, he still didn't understand why he had even ended up with this title, as he did nothing to anyone unless provoked. He also had a hard time at school because of his little sister, as she was always getting into fights with girls in her grade, and he always had to make sure she was safe. Everything was just a pain for him, and even though he had moved on from the hurt, deep down it still saddened him to no end. Ivan just wanted to have lots of friends like everybody else.

He frowned, realising he had just made himself sad. He let out a sigh, standing to his feet and shuffling back out into the lounge room. Maybe Ivan would watch those shows with Natalya, just this once. It's not like he had anything better to do until Katyusha got home, anyway.

The rest of the afternoon passed by and Katyusha returned home and got started on dinner. Ivan and Natalya both went to go help her, as it was just something they did together. Their parents had been in a car accident about two years ago. Katyusha was 20 years old, so she was 18 and took the role of raising her two younger siblings. Ivan wished things didn't have to be this way, but he couldn't do anything to change the past or change his older sister's mind. She was pretty much their mother now. Natalya and Ivan loved Katyusha so much because she always did everything she could to make them happy and have a good life. Of course, Ivan believed sometimes she tried too hard and stressed herself out. He thought she seemed happy, but sometimes he caught a glimpse of sadness in her eyes. But Ivan wouldn't say anything to risk upsetting her, as that was the last thing he ever wanted to do.

The little family of three sat and ate dinner together, sharing stories about each other's day. Katyusha smiled brightly and sounded so happy when Ivan told his two sisters he was going to meet a boy tomorrow. He guessed she was cheerful because her dear little brother might finally have someone he can become close to beside his family. Natalya pouted a little and fell silent, which Ivan did assume she'd do. He just smiled softly at her, tilting his head and giving his quiet and cute laugh. Natalya smiled a little, but only a little. Ivan couldn't really classify it as a smile, after a moment of thinking about it.

Ivan helped wash up, and then moved off to have a shower. He generally took a long time in the shower, usually getting distracted as he ended up contemplating a lot of things. Usually Katyusha would turn the tap in the kitchen on if he had almost been in there for an hour. Thankfully, that did not happen tonight. He simply stepped out of the shower, dried off and redressed into what he'd be sleeping in. Once he left the bathroom, he wandered back into the lounge room one last time to say goodnight to his two lovely sisters.

Ivan did his best to dream pleasant things, even pondering what Yao would look like before he drifted off to sleep. Oh boy, he really hoped Yao was much shorter than him.

Morning came, and he let out a nervous squeak as he looked at his alarm clock. It seemed he had over slept! Alfred said to come over before 10:30am, and it was already 10:00am! Quickly, he rolled out of bed and tried to speedily get dressed into the clothes he had picked out the previous night. Then Ivan quickly ran a small comb through his hair, in attempt to fix it so it looked at least a bit better than it generally did. Finally, he wrapped the scarf he always wore around his neck. The pale purple scarf had been a gift from Katyusha for his birthday many years ago, and he treasured it.

He stumbled into the kitchen, earning himself a laugh from Katyusha, who just placed some toast and a glass of orange juice in front of him and told him to get a move on. He nodded awkwardly, stuffing the toast into his mouth and trying to drink all the juice in as little time as possible. It wasn't that far to Alfred's house, but he had to walk so he couldn't dawdle!

He bade his sisters farewell, grabbing his own copy of the house key, his wallet and slipping on his shoes. Ivan glanced to his watch, groaning as it showed that it was 10:10am. He walked as quickly as his body would allow, eventually seeing Alfred's home come into view when his watch read 10:25am. Ivan practically leaped into Alfred's front yard, not even bothering to open the front gate and just jumping the fence.

Ivan knocked on the front door, it being opened by Alfred's mother and not Alfred himself.

"Good morning Mrs Jones. Is Alfred around? We were going over to Kiku's today..." Ivan mumbled quietly, stepping back from the door a bit and looking down. Why did he always have to get so shy around people he didn't know well? It was such a pain!

Alfred's mother smiled and nodded. "I know, sweetheart. Hang on, I'll get him for you, he's been ready to go since he woke up at about 6:00am." she giggled quietly to herself, turning her head and calling Alfred into the house to get the attention of her teenage son. Nothing less than two seconds later, Alfred came bounding down the stairs from his bedroom most likely, causing his mother to side step quickly because he was moving rather fast.

Ivan stepped back a bit as Alfred pretty much jumped out the front door. "Good morning, Ivan! Alright let's go to Kiku's house so you can meet your future boyfriend!" he exclaimed, walking past Ivan who was still just standing there feeling a bit bewildered by his behaviour. Alfred's cheerfulness and almost childlike behaviour never ceased to amaze him. After a few moments, Alfred's words actually sunk in and his face turned red within a matter of seconds.

"Alfred! I don't even know Yao... he's not my future boyfriend! He may not even like me," Ivan whined weakly, pathetically waving to Alfred's mother and walking after the loud American. Alfred let out a laugh, stopping for a moment so Ivan could catch up with him.

"I just have a feeling you guys are gonna hit it off, yeah?" he chuckled, fixing his glasses and picking up the pace again once Ivan was beside him on the pavement. "You just gotta think positive like me, and this Yao guy will be yours." he puffed, jogging for a moment due to being a little excited about everything. Although, Ivan believed he was excited because he got to spend more time with Kiku.

The two stopped to buy some soft drinks on the way to Kiku's to fill in time, then continuing on to the Japanese boy's house. They soon arrived, at exactly 10:57am. Kiku was waiting at the window, staring out of it and rolling his eyes a little at the sight of Alfred running through the front yard towards the door to enter the house. Ivan sighed, scratching his head and waving to Kiku through the window. Kiku instantly vanished from the window, likely relocating to his front door to open it before Alfred broke it down or something.

The door was open and Alfred burst in, talking quickly to Kiku like a little child who was happy to see their friend. Ivan shuffled into the house after him awkwardly, smiling a little in amusement at the obvious happiness on Alfred's face. Kiku pushed Alfred off of him after a moment or so, because he had latched onto him like he generally would.

"Yao, my friends are here!" Kiku called out, glancing towards the hallway expectantly. Ivan held his breath as he heard footsteps approaching, now was the moment where he would meet his potential boyfriend.

The creature that appeared in his sight after a few moments was so dazzling and adorable, that they surely could not be from this planet.


	3. Chapter 3

**wowie i wrote another chapter yeahhh**

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Yao closed the book he had been reading at the sound of his name, standing to his feet and wandering out into the hallway to go meet his cousin's friends. He supposed they'd likely both be taller than him and Kiku, much to his annoyance. He sighed, fixing his shirt quickly and stepping out into the hall.

The first of the two boys that his eyes fell upon was very tall. Yao couldn't help but smile at him and the other boy instantly, as they both looked rather adorable. The really tall on was looking down in embarrassment, face hidden by his scarf a little. The other one was talking very quickly and seeming to drive Kiku crazy, as he fixed his glasses at the same time every few moments due to moving around so much as he talked. Yao moved to his cousin's side, waving to the two boys in the room slightly.

"Good morning, my name's Wang Yao-" he didn't even get to finish his sentence because Alfred burst out laughing.

"Wang! Does that mean you...?" Alfred trailed off, laughing into his hand and snorting. Ivan scowled and slapped Alfred's back, grumbling a _be polite_ to the American. Yao rolled his eyes, huffing.

"Now, what are your names?" Yao asked, attempting to disregard the boy with glasses somewhat rude comment. The taller of the two fiddled with his scarf nervously, glancing to him and then back at Alfred who was laughing at his side. Was this one shy? How sweet.

Ivan bit his lip, going to try to speak but finding it incredibly hard because Yao kept looking at him and it was making him feel flustered. "I'm Ivan Braginsky..." he muttered weakly after a few moments of glancing around in embarrassment. Yao smiled stepping forward to take his hand and shake it.

"Alright, what's your name?" he questioned, directing his attention to Alfred and stepping back from Ivan. Alfred gave Yao a winning smile, fixing his glasses and running a hand through his hair.

"My name is Alfred F. Jones!" he exclaimed proudly, placing his hands on his hips and winking at Yao. Yao blinked at him, an amused smirk on his face. "I'm super cool, but you know what Yao? Ivan here is maybe even cooler than me," he said, quietening his voice a little, slinging an arm around Ivan's shoulder and making him jump. It took a moment for him to realise that Alfred was trying to make him seem appealing to Yao, and he quickly pushed his arm away and shook his head nervously. Yao laughed softly, glancing to Kiku and raising a brow in amusement.

"I'm really not that cool! I still wear the sweaters that my grandmother makes for me... I mean, wait! No I don't, please forget that I just said that," Ivan whined somewhat pathetically, burying his face in his hands and shuffling behind Alfred. Yao found himself laughing a bit louder, having to cover his mouth. Wow, he didn't think Kiku's friends would be so interesting!

Yao walked closer to Ivan, navigating past Alfred and patting the taller boy's shoulder somewhat comfortingly. As he raised his head, Yao got a better look at his face. He had a slightly large nose, something that could be easily overlooked because he had the most gorgeous eyes. Ivan also had beautiful hair that suited him perfectly; he couldn't help but start swooning subtly over how adorable he was. Ivan seemed as if he was probably older than Alfred and Kiku, seeing that he was tall and just gave off a more mature vibe.

Kiku let out a quiet sigh, shaking his head and shuffling off to the kitchen to get some food for them to eat. Suddenly, Ivan remembered that he and Alfred had purchased soft drinks to offer to Kiku and Yao during their visit. To avoid any more embarrassment, he quickly walked after Kiku and followed him into the kitchen. He felt kind of bad leaving Yao with Alfred for a moment, but he needed to recompose himself because he was a wreck.

Yao watched Ivan follow Kiku into the kitchen, raising a brow and then looking back to Alfred. "Is Ivan always this shy?" he asked curiously, crossing his arms and watching Alfred. The American seemed to think for a moment, as if he wasn't actually entirely sure about Ivan's behaviour. But then he nodded, laughing quietly.

"He's always been kinda shy, usually only around people he's never met before, though. If you get to know him more, he's a really great guy, trust me." Alfred hummed, gesturing for Yao to follow him into the kitchen to join the other two. Alfred leaped into the kitchen, startling Ivan a little and causing him to nearly drop the cans of soft drinks that he was placing on the table that they had purchased earlier. Kiku just let out a quiet sigh, placing some snacks on the table for the group to eat as they talked with one another. Yao just laughed, finding this whole thing amusing to an extent.

They all sat around the table, Alfred drumming his fingers on the table and glancing around expectantly and waiting for one of them to say something.

He realised that no one was likely going to try to start a conversation so he took it upon himself.

"Hey Ivan, do you really wear the sweaters your grandmother knitted for you?" he asked, tilting his head and glancing to him curiously. Ivan let out a whimper and looked at the table, face going red with embarrassment. He shook his head quickly, trying to get Alfred to drop it.

"I think it'd be pretty cute if you did, Ivan." Yao hummed, leaning his elbows on the desk and looking towards Ivan, a small smile on his face. Of course, this comment only caused Ivan to get extremely flustered. Cruelly enough, this had been the reaction Yao wanted. He could not get over just how sweet and adorable Ivan was, it was almost unbearable! "Sweaters are super adorable," he pressed on, watching him curiously for how he'd react. Ivan just hid his face in his hands.

Ivan was starting to regret letting Alfred set him up like this! Sure, he was still excited and still kind of grateful, but he had come into Kiku's house and introduced to a sweet guy, with absolutely no experience in romantic relations.

"I'm sure if you asked to see Ivan some other time; he'd wear a sweater for you if you said he should." Kiku said bluntly, taking a drink from one of the cans on the table, a subtle smirk on his face. Ivan could only think about how much of a bastard he was. He acted like he didn't want to get involved in social situations and then he turned around and did this to him. Ivan decided that Alfred and Kiku were evil.

Yao laughed, running a hand through his hair.

He stood to his feet, wandering over to the counter and picking up a small notepad. Quickly, he scribbled his mobile phone number down on it with a pen. Then, he pulled the page he had written on off the little pad and shuffled back to his chair. He leant over the table and offered it to Ivan. "Well, what do you say? Why don't we catch up sometime and you can wear a cute sweater for me?" he smirked, leaning almost intimately close to Ivan over the table. Ivan gulped and hesitantly took the piece of paper.

"Sure." Ivan murmured, unable to look into Yao's beautiful golden eyes.

Yao hummed to himself, sitting back down in his chair and beginning to nibble on the snacks Kiku had placed on the table for them. Ivan was too embarrassed to do anything.

Subtly, Alfred leant over to Kiku, whispering stuff into his ear. Ivan did not notice because he was too busy trying to avoid eye contact with everyone in the room. While Yao, was just glancing around as if he was oblivious. Suddenly, Alfred stood to his feet, quickly followed by Kiku.

"Kiku wants to show me something in his room. Why don't you tell each other about yourselves?" Alfred suggested, linking arms with Kiku and moving suspiciously quickly out of the room. The Russian of course, instantly knew what the pair was trying to do.

And now, he was alone with Yao, the only noise between them being the quiet humming of the fridge.

Ivan was alone with the guy who had just given him his phone number.

And he was freaking out.


	4. Chapter 4

**whoa chapter 4 can u believe it (also apologies that the chapters are so short ! i can only write about 1000 words and then im jsut lol thats enough lmao)**

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Yao leant his elbows on the table, looking at Ivan curiously. He thought it was quite cute, just how nervous Ivan was around him. Perhaps Ivan had never had some sort of romantic relationship before? He could only assume due to his behaviour.

"So, tell me about yourself." Yao said after a few moments, smiling kindly at him in some sort of attempt to calm him down. Ivan fiddled with his hands shyly. "Okay, do you have any brothers or sisters?" he guessed he should probably narrow the possible topics in the discussion of telling someone about yourself. Ivan let out a quiet shaky sigh, trying to look up to meet his eyes.

"I have two sisters..." he purred, trying his best to keep up some sort of eye contact. "I have a big sister named Katyusha and a younger sister named Natalya. Do you have any brother or sisters, Yao?" Ivan replied bravely, starting to get a little less awkward with Yao.

Yao nodded his head, playing at the tips of his hair. "I have two younger siblings. A brother named Xiang and a sister named Mei. Well isn't that nice, we both have two siblings, something we have in common right away," he hummed pleasantly, dipping his head and smiling. Ivan managed to let out a soft laugh nodding his head a little at Yao's comment. Besides Yao's somewhat girlish and young appearance, he had a very mature feel about him. Ivan wondered what high school he went to, but he supposed he'd save that question for another time. "How did you meet my cousin, Kiku? I'm curious." he asked after a little while.

Ivan had actually met Kiku through Alfred, because Alfred and Kiku were best friends. And the reason that they had met was because Kiku broke up a brawl that they got into with each other one time, so Kiku was pretty nice guy. It was quite obvious to Ivan that even though Kiku and Alfred were the best of friends, Kiku did not put up with a lot of Alfred's silly shenanigans and behaviour.

"I met Kiku because he stopped me from beating up Alfred one time. Your cousin is really nice, a good friend." Ivan hummed gently, glancing towards the window. This made Yao a bit confused. Ivan and Alfred had fought before? He had to hear about this, he was now curious.

"You and Alfred fought? Aren't you two friends?" he asked, tilting his head in confusion and drumming on the table with his feminine fingers.

Ivan nodded, looking towards the ceiling.

"Alfred and I are friends, but, more-so that we're rivals. We disagree on certain things and sometimes get into fights but I guess... at the end of the day, we're friends." he shrugged, smiling fondly at the thought of the silly American playfully insulting him at times, as Ivan knew that his insults had no true meaning behind them. Of course in return, Ivan's insults meant no true harm. "We've got each other's backs."

Yao nodded with interest, laughing a little.

"It must be refreshing to have a friendship like that," he commented, continuing to look at Ivan with interest. Ivan nodded his head a bit, smiling weakly. Okay, he was sure he had calmed down a bit now, thankfully. Now he could only hope he wouldn't say something terribly stupid and mess up any chances he has with this guy. Yao started playing with his hair more, shifting it from shoulder to shoulder to try to find the best place for it. Ivan watched him out of the corner of his eye, finding his hair to be beautiful. "So, what do you reckon Kiku and Alfred are up to, hm?"

"Alfred's probably making advances on Kiku, while your cousin tries to play video games." Ivan shrugged, trying to push himself to be more outgoing with his replies. Yao raised a brow, curious once again.

"Are you saying that Alfred has a thing for Kiku? How amusing," he laughed, looking to the door in which the pair from before had vanished through. Ivan nodded, laughing too.

"Yeah, Alfred likes him a lot. Its pretty funny." he giggled, adjusting his scarf a little. Hearing Ivan make such a cute noise such as a giggle made Yao have to freeze for a moment just to get over such a sweet sound. God, this Ivan was going to give him diabetes or something, because he was just too sweet for him to handle!

Ivan was unable to take his eyes off Yao at this point, ceasing the embarrassed glancing around so he could look at the pretty man in his sight.

Honestly, this whole scene would look quite funny and a bit strange if you were to look, because they were just looking each other up and down and not acknowledging the other observing their appearance.

Yao just could not take his eyes off Ivan's lovely eyes. Strangely enough, they were coloured purple, a very strange colour for eyes. Perhaps the Russian wore contacts? But Yao liked the idea that his eyes were naturally that colour more, made him seem more alluring. "Your eyes are beautiful." Yao said, not realising he had just spoken his thoughts.

At the sudden comment, Ivan was pulled out of his daze and started to turn red. Why did Yao have to keep making him blush and get all flustered? Ivan let out a soft whine, laughing pathetically and shying away a little. It actually took a moment for the other to realise they had actually just said that. Yao let out a very loud and awkward laugh, coughing into his hand.

"Sorry! I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable I just..." he trailed off, unsure of what to actually say. Ivan just shook his head quickly, hiding his face in his hands. Yao started to blush too, because he just embarrassed himself and that Ivan just kept doing incredibly adorable things.

"You didn't make me uncomfortable at all!" he cried, continuing to shake his head and blush furiously. Damn, he was probably acting like a little school girl! Surely his father would be ashamed of his behaviour right now. "In fact, I think your eyes are beautiful too! Prettier than mine!" dammit Ivan! Shut up, your making things worse for yourself! He pressed his forehead against the desk, fed up with his embarrassing behaviour. Yao giggled, covering his mouth. "Your eyes remind me of honey..." he murmured, unable to shut up at this point and just kept droning on to himself about how pretty Yao's eyes were. They were both extremely flushed at this point, Yao biting his lip and continuing to giggle.

It had been a long time since Yao had met someone as sweet as Ivan, and it was very pleasant.

"Your eyes are like amethysts." he said after a little, leaning forward out of his chair and patting Ivan's shoulder. "Truly beautiful."

Ivan tried to utter a reply, but was too busy being embarrassed to say anything intelligent, just muttering unintelligible words as some sort of weak attempt at a reply.

"I could stare into them all day, but I shouldn't. I may fall into a trance," Yao hummed softly, trying to coax Ivan into lifting his head to stop hiding his face. "You're very sweet."

Ivan somehow managed to squeak in reply, earning himself a small giggle from Yao.

Well, it was painfully obvious to Ivan who was going to take control of the relationship if it becomes serious. He had always wished to be the tough one in a romantic relationship, but his dreams had been shattered in a matter of seconds by a guy who just reached his shoulder in height and had the hair of a girl. Never would he be able to live up to the stereotype of a frightening Russian man, what a shame.

Yao was about to be crazily bold, and lean in to kiss Ivan's cheek, but Alfred came bounding back into the kitchen so he pulled back from the Russian speedily.

"You two getting along, right?" the American asked, picking up two of the cans that had been left on the table earlier and glancing to the pair at the table interestedly. Ivan looked up to him quickly, nodding his head awkwardly. Yao also nodded, less awkwardly as Ivan though.

"Ivan's very pleasant to talk to. You were right about him being a great guy and stuff." Yao chuckled, tapping the table once more. Alfred let out an obnoxious laugh, beginning to head out of the room again.

"Well, of course I was right! I am me, after all. I'm always right, and I'm sure you'll learn that!" he huffed proudly, and then moved out of the room completely.

When Alfred was gone, Ivan just pressed his face against the table again. Yao grabbed his chair and shuffled around to sit beside him properly.

"I'm sorry I'm so awkward," Ivan whined faintly, his voice muffled because it was pressed against the table.

"It's alright. Besides, I enjoy your timid behaviour." Yao replied, reaching to Ivan and touching and playing with his scarf. Ivan started blushing again, feeling the other's hands feel his scarf. "Where'd you get this scarf? It's very nice."

"My big sister made it for me when I was much younger. It's nice, isn't it? She said she put all her love for me into making it..." he mumbled, sitting up properly and smiling to himself.

"Sounds like you have a lovely sister." Yao replied, smiling thoughtfully. "I'd like to meet her sometime, maybe," he started to play with his hair again.

"I'm sure she'd love to meet you. She loves it when I bring friends over, since I don't have many!" he exclaimed brightly, starting to get his confidence back. Yao frowned at Ivan's words. Did he not have many friends? How sad, Yao really did not understand how such a nice young man such as Ivan did not have lots and lots of friends. Of course, he would not question him about this, because it would likely be a personal topic to discuss with someone you only just met.

The shorter of the two quickly changed the conversation, continuing to ask Ivan things about himself that would be considered proper. In turn, Ivan attempted to ask Yao interesting questions, struggling at times because he has poor social skills. The two ended up talking for a very long time though, liking each other more and more with every reply. In fact, they got to the point where they were talking as if they had known each other for years and it was very nice for both.

Eventually Alfred and Kiku returned to the room, Kiku stating he was going to make something for lunch. But Yao jumped out of his chair nearly and gently pushed Kiku away, declaring that he would make lunch to show off his mad cooking skill. Kiku rolled his eyes and took a seat at the table with Alfred and Ivan. The American chatted away as Ivan and Kiku remained silent, Kiku just not bothering to try to interject and Ivan too focused on watching Yao cook. With twenty minutes, the smell that was being created by Yao's cooking was absolutely brilliant. Even though Yao said he was only making a noodle dish, it smelled absolutely magnificent to Ivan. After thinking about watching Yao cook, Ivan eventually figured out his eyes were mostly fixated on Yao's behind as he cooked.

Soon enough, Yao was serving them all noodles, boasting about how brilliant it was going to taste. Kiku ate the dish as if he had eaten them many times before, which he likely had. Yao hummed a tune, sitting down beside Ivan again with his noodles and eating happily. Alfred was very unpleasant to watch eat, because he talked as he ate and didn't keep his mouth closed when he was not talking. Ivan ate quietly, marvelling at how perfectly cooked everything was. Yao was certainly some cuisine genius, or something.

With the meal eaten, the group chatted for a little while longer, before Alfred announced that he and Ivan should probably get going. Ivan agreed reluctantly, wanting to talk to Yao more but had decided he had probably embarrassed himself enough for one day.

Yao made sure to tell Ivan to give him a call sometime when he had the chance so they could meet up, and Ivan could wear a cute sweater for him. Ivan nodded his head quickly, shuffling out of the house quickly before he said something dumb.

Alfred and he walked back towards Alfred's neighbourhood, talking about various things as they normally did.

"So, do you think you hit off with Yao?" Alfred asked, nudging Ivan playfully as they stood outside Alfred's front yard.

"Uh... I think so? I mean... he did give me his number, so..." Ivan murmured quietly, glancing to the ground.

"You guys are totally gonna get married, I can just feel it!" Alfred exclaimed, slapping Ivan's back and making him stumble a little. "Well, see you around Ivan." and with that, Alfred hopped into his yard and vanished into his house, leaving Ivan to walk home by himself.

As he walked home, he pulled the little piece of paper with Yao's number on it, and smiled. Perhaps this romance would go very well for him. And if not, maybe he had made a good friend.

Either way, he would be very happy.


	5. Chapter 5

**there we go here's chapter 5**

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Yao was very pleased with the turn of events. After thinking about today's occurrence, he came to the conclusion that Kiku had brought Alfred and Ivan over so he could meet Ivan, most importantly. He certainly didn't mind though, as he had gotten the chance to date a cute Russian boy. He tugged at the hair tie that was holding his dark hair in a pony tail, letting the hair fall loosely around his shoulders.

Maybe the reason he had instantly been so eager to try to flirt with Ivan was because he was lonely, and still not over his last relationship, as silly as it was. Yao still remembered the way the emerald-green eyes would stare into his own as they sat with each other and talked. Arthur Kirkland was his name, and Yao was still in love with him to a certain extent.

He was painfully aware of how stupid he was when he fell into a romantic relationship with Arthur, knowing he had a reputation for having multiple partners at once. But Yao had thought to himself that maybe Arthur would drop the habit for him. He had been wrong though, being told that Arthur was off spending nights with a French class mate at the college. Yao broke Arthur's arm and told him he hated him, severing the ties of love between them.

Wang Yao hated Arthur Kirkland; there was no doubt about that. But when his mind fell into thought about the man, he couldn't help but continue to feel some sense of adoration for the man.

Perhaps Ivan's presence would help him forget about Arthur? Yao really hoped so. Ivan seemed like a lovely guy, and he really liked the idea of being the more experienced one in the relationship, as it was pretty obvious that the Russian had never really been in a relationship before. He rested his cheek in his hand, looking out his bedroom window. Yao really hoped that he hadn't spooked Ivan or anything like that with his behaviour from today.

He tiredly glanced down to the book that was open on his desk, eyes lazily glancing over the words. Yao didn't really feel like reading any more tonight, so he closed the book and shuffled over to his bed. Yao collapses on his bed, smiling to himself and staring up at the ceiling. Perhaps spending his break from college with his cousin had been a very good idea after all. Maybe this time would allow him to completely rid the thought of Arthur from his mind, and fall in love with someone who was actually a good person? Yao was quite tired, so with that last thought, he rolled off his bed and walked over to the room's light switch to turn it off, so the room would be comfortably dark to allow him to sleep.

Ivan couldn't stop smiling the second he stepped into his house, obviously getting strange looks from Natalya and Katyusha. Happily, he told them about the day's events, Katyusha clapping her hands together cheerfully and congratulating him. Natalya scowled at the mention of Yao, but said nothing. Ivan supposed she'd eventually just get over it. Well, he really hoped she would.

He ate his dinner cheerfully, swooning and talking non-stop about Yao to Katyusha. She listened to every single thing Ivan said, loving the sight of him looking so happy. He continued to babble even as he helped her older sister clean up. Eventually, he tired himself out from talking so much and shuffled off to his bedroom to get some sleep.

Of course, he was unable to sleep for a little while because he was busy being nervous. He wasn't sure if he should call Yao the next day or wait a little while. What were you supposed to do when someone gave you their phone number? This was all so strange and frightening for him! After much worried debating, he came to the decision to call Yao sometime the next day and try to organise when they'd be meeting up again.

Oh dear, Ivan just simply could not get the thought of the lovely guy out of his head! Surely Yao had the most beautiful hair he had ever seen, prettier than any hair he had seen on a girl. It was a beautiful colour and it suited him perfectly, and it was obvious Yao took expert care of it. Ivan wanted to run his fingers through it and brush it for him every day. Ivan blinked. He was getting a bit ahead of himself, since they'd just met.

He began wondering what Yao would look like in one of his sweaters. Ivan just had a feeling that Yao would look incredibly adorable. Ah, he just couldn't help but swoon at the thought.

After about ten more minutes or so of thinking about Yao in cute clothes, he decided he should actually try to sleep. Ivan succeeded after a while, drifting off to the world of slumber.

The next morning, he happily climbed out of bed, got dressed and headed into the kitchen to have breakfast. Today, he would spend most of his time fretting actually calling Yao, because he was shy and nervous as all hell about it. But could you really blame him though? He had just succeeded in starting his first potential relationship, so he was a bit scared of calling Yao. What if he messed up everything on their first date? That would be horrible and very disheartening for him.

"What's that matter?" came Katyusha's sweet voice, Ivan jumping as he felt her hand on his shoulder.

"Ah... I'm just nervous about this whole Yao thing..." Ivan murmured, nervously eating his toast. She laughed softly, taking a seat beside him and smiling at him.

"It'll be okay, Ivan. I'm sure Yao will like you a lot; he seems to like you a lot already so that's good. Don't be too hesitant, or he'll get away from you," she hummed, placing her hands in front of her on the kitchen table. He nodded awkwardly, sighing and biting his lip. "Also, make sure you bring him over when you get the chance."

Ivan nodded at the request from his older sister, finishing off his morning meal and moving to clean up after himself. Even after the somewhat encouraging words from his sister, he still found himself panicking. He was pretty sure this was a normal thing though, so perhaps he was handling romance right? Ivan sure hoped so.

He spent most of the day pacing back and forth around the house like a fool, clutching his mobile phone in one hand and Yao's number in the other. Sometimes he took a moment to glance down at them and almost type in his number, but never managed to work up the courage.

Eventually, and rather cruelly, Katyusha got sick of hearing him walking through the house and rushed into the room. She took Ivan's phone and the slip of paper with Yao's number and dialed it into the device and once it was in the stage of waiting to be received, she threw it back to Ivan and rushed out of the room. Ivan could only make terrified noises of protests as she left the room, shakily holding the phone to his ear because Yao would most certainly pick up.

"_Hello?"_

Ivan bit his lip at the sound of Yao's voice, trying to speak into the phone, but only managing to make little noises due to his nervousness.

"_Is this you Ivan? I just assumed because of the cute noises,"_

He shook his head quickly, pressing a hand to his cheek and blushing. "H-Hi Yao," he said into the phone, trying to calm his nerves. "How are you?" that was really dumb to say, as Yao likely wouldn't be much different from the previous day.

"_You sound like you're speaking to someone you haven't spoken to in months," _

He found himself blushing more as he heard Yao laughing adorably into the phone. "Sorry! I'm just not good at this stuff..." Ivan murmured, playing with his scarf.

"_I am well aware, but this behaviour suits you, so it's sweet." _

Ivan made a noise of protest, wishing Yao would stop making him blush. God, he was so easily flustered! "I'm glad you enjoy my poor social skills, Yao," he chuckled, sitting down on the couch of the living was confused for a moment, because it seemed as if Yao was hesitant to respond or something.

"_Yes, yes of course I do," _another pause, making Ivan feel nervous. What if Yao was having second thoughts? Oh dear, he was fretting again. _"So, when do you want to go out? I'm up for any time. Today or tomorrow, or whenever... your decision. Unless you want me to pick,"_ Ivan let out a quiet sigh of relief, so Yao wasn't have second thoughts after all!

"I'm bad at making decisions, you pick," Ivan mumbled, continuing to play with his scarf as some form of distraction to calm his nerves. Yao laughed again, causing Ivan to smile a little. Yao's laugh was so nice and calming; he really adored it and wanted to hear him laugh all the time. Yao fell silent, Ivan assuming that he was thinking about the time they should meet.

"_Well, I should be studying to keep my grades good, so how about we meet today? That way, afterwards I can focus of studying so you won't be on my mind,"_

"Ah, alright! Where do you want to meet?"

"_How about at the mall? We'll get lunch and chat, maybe do some shopping. Sound good?"_

Ivan nodded to himself, seeing as the person he was talking to couldn't actually see him nodding. "That's good! Okay, so when?"

"_Within the next two hours? We'll meet in front of that cute café,"_

"Okay," he went to nod again, but remembered Yao wasn't actually there to see him.

"_Alright! Make sure you wear a sweater for me, okay? I'll see you there." _and with that last comment, Yao hung up. Ivan shakily placed his phone in the pocket of his pants, shuffling off to his bedroom to get a sweater at Yao's request. He really did not want to go out in public in one of them, but it was for Yao and he wanted to make a good overall impression on the possible boyfriend!

He then spent possibly 20 minutes trying to fix his hair so it didn't look so messy, but was unable to find a good outcome, so he left it the way it was. Ivan honestly didn't even understand why he cared so much about his hair of all things, but he supposed it was because he just really wanted Yao to find him attractive in all aspects. Ivan decided he should not show up too early, as that would make him seem overly eager.

Finally, he decided it was a good time to get a move on down to the mall to meet up with the beautiful Chinese student. He hoped that if Yao was there already when he got there, that he had not left him waiting for an annoyingly long amount of time.

As usual, the mall was busy. Ivan was not a fan of being in places that were full of people, always worried some of the nastier people from school would be there and go out of their way to bother him. But he would try to stay positive! This was his first date after all, and he really hoped that everything went smoothly! He made his way towards the café Yao had mentioned, well, the café he assumed Yao had meant. There was really only one 'cute cafe' in the mall. All the other ones were where all the older people went to drink their coffee like they're better than everyone, and Ivan did not want to go there.

He stood in front of the café, glancing around nervously seeing as Yao had not arrived yet. Ivan sighed, starting to worry about everything that could go wrong on the date. But he mostly found himself wishing he didn't worry as much as he did, but he just couldn't help it. Reassuringly he began to tell himself that Yao would be there soon and the day would be nice. Ivan stood around for about 10 more minutes, feeling his heart start to race as the boy he had waited for appeared in the crowd of people.

Yao looked especially adorable today. He too, was wearing a sweater, which just made Ivan blush a little at the sight of him. He waved to him weakly when he was waved to by Yao first, trying his best to smile bravely when he was smiled at by Yao.

"Hi Ivan! I hope you haven't been waiting long," he puffed, placing his hand on Ivan's shoulder and patting it apologetically. Ivan shook his head.

"No, I haven't. I've only been here for a little, so its fine." Ivan smiled down at him, running a hand through his blond hair. "I wore a sweater for you, and I see you decided to wear one too."

Yao giggled, causing Ivan to smile widely.

"Well, I thought we'd look like an especially cute pair if we were both wearing sweaters!" Yao stated, placing his hands on his hips and smirking up at Ivan. "So, lunch first then?"

Ivan nodded slightly, turning to look at the café. "Sure, if that's what you want to do."

Yao hummed to himself, taking hold of Ivan's larger hand and pulling him into the café. He told Ivan to pick a table for them to sit at while he bought them food, also asking what Ivan would like. Ivan just told him to buy whatever was cheap, but Yao insisted he picked something he wanted. Ivan still just picked one of the cheaper foods, making Yao pout. The Russian shuffled over to a little table for them to sit at together, watching and waiting for Yao to join him.

The smaller man joined him a few moments later, sitting opposite of him and waiting for their order to arrive at the table. Ivan tried to start a conversation, but found he was unable to, so he just waited for the food and drinks with Yao. The order arrived soon after that, Yao instantly beginning to eat and ended up with a look upon his face as if he was judging every bit of the food. Ivan just enjoyed it, seeing as he was hungry and was just pleased it was satisfying his stomach. The two sat in a pleasant silence, just eating and drinking, Ivan assuming there would be time for talking when they had finished. So far, everything was pleasant on their date, and it made his heart flutter with happiness.

"Look guys! Its Braginsky," he heard a loud and obnoxious voice shout throughout the mall, making his stomach feeling as if it was dropping or something like that. It was a boy named Gilbert, from his school, and it seemed he was with his group of friends. So the day would not be pleasant after all. Ivan tried his best to ignore him, and he whispered to Yao to ignore him too. Obviously, it did not stop Gilbert from making his way over to the pair.

What fun.


	6. Chapter 6

**[sweats] sorry i took so long to write this ;; much gomen pls forgive me **

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Ivan had begun praying silently that maybe Gilbert would leave him alone. Of course, Ivan never really got what he wanted, so he found himself looking away as the white haired boy grabbed a chair and pulled it over to sit with them at their table. If they were at school, Ivan would have just gotten up and left, or punched Gilbert, but he had Yao with him and he had to remain calm. Yao stared at Gilbert with a slightly amused expression, as if waiting to judge his actions.

"What are you doing out here today, Braginsky?" he asked loudly, leaning his elbows on the table and going to pick at Ivan's food. Ivan refused to look up at him. Yao just raised a brow in thought, he was beginning to worry that Ivan was bullied at school or something. Still, he remained quiet to see what would happen. Ivan resisted the urge to punch him right then and there when the intruder's interest seemed to turn to his Chinese date. "Who's this chick? She's pretty hot, I don't know why she'd wanna hang with you." he puffed obnoxiously, leaning closely to Yao.

Yao scoffed and shook his head, glancing up to Ivan curiously, and then looking at Gilbert. "And what's your name, then?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. Gilbert laughed, leaning back in his chair and running a hand through his hair and smirking at Yao.

"Name's Gilbert! Say, why don't you come with me and my friends? Ivan's boring and weird, certainly not cool," Gilbert laughed, kicking Ivan's leg supposedly by accident underneath the cafe table. Yao just blinked slowly at him. "Come on, you could do way better than him." The smaller man tilted his head slightly, laughing softly to himself.

"First of all, I'm a guy." he stated, flipping his hair at Gilbert. The white haired boy looked surprised, originally certain that Yao had been female. "Second of all, leave before I break your arm." Yao grunted, glaring at Gilbert. Gilbert seemed somewhat shocked that this feminine man was so tough sounding. Ivan looked between Yao and Gilbert, worried that the annoying boy would pick a fight with his date.

"Whoa, okay you're strange just like Ivan! Hah..." he murmured after a moment, shuffling back in his chair and then standing. "Seems you've found your perfect match, Braginsky." Gilbert puffed, shaking his head and walking back towards his group of friends, an air of arrogance surrounding him.

Ivan let out a sigh, pressing his face against the little cafe table. Well, what a great way to start off their first date. Now he had begun fretting that Yao would think he was not worth looking into a relationship with if he was going to be harassed like that, simply because he was hanging around with Ivan. After a moment, he felt a gentle hand patting the back of his head.

"Are you alright?" Yao asked worriedly, leaning closer to him over the table. He just shook his head.

"Yes... ugh, I'm sorry about him. Not many people like me, so I tend to attract attention." he mumbled sadly, sitting up straight again and looking away from Yao.

"Oh, I see. Well, I hope you know I was actually going to break his arm." he laughed, trying to make Ivan smile again, a sad face did not suit him in the least. Ivan turned back to him, flashing him a small smile. "He's gone now, so it's okay. We can get back to our date," Yao chuckled, leaning his elbows on the table for a moment then returning to eating his food.

Ivan felt his heart flutter a little at the word _date_. Well, he was well aware that it was in fact a date, and that Yao was aware as well. But just hearing Yao say it to him, while they were on the date; it just made him feel so happy. After the lovely thought passed, he returned to his own food, trying to erase the thought of Gilbert from his mind. Soon enough, the meals that had ordered were devoured completely, and it was time to decide where to go next.

"Uh, do you mind if we go into a stationary shop? I need to buy some new pencils..." Yao sighed, standing from his chair and waiting for Ivan to join him. The larger boy nodded his head, standing quickly.

"I don't mind! To be honest, I don't really have any ideas of where we should go shopping anyway!" he replied, scratching his head awkwardly and adjusting his scarf. Yao nodded and offered his hand to Ivan, staring at him patiently. It took a few moments for Ivan to realise Yao was offering to hold hands with him. He muttered a quiet _'oh'_ and took it, letting himself be pulled out of the cafe slightly, and off towards the store Yao had in mind.

They walked for a minute or so, before Yao came to a halt in front of what appeared to be a shop selling stationary items. He happily walked into the shop, glancing around at everything curiously. Ivan noticed he seemed to stare at items were considered cute. Perhaps Yao really likes cute things? Made sense, Ivan supposed, his date seemed to give him the impression that he had a thing for particularly adorable items.

Ivan shuffled after him, somewhat amused, glancing around the shop curiously as Yao looked for whatever pencils he was looking for. Eventually, Ivan heard Yao exclaim a quiet _'aha!'_ as he seemed to have found whatever it was he was looking for exactly. Ivan glanced over his shoulder, interest piqued. He couldn't stop himself from letting out a giggle at the sight of Yao holding some pencils that were bright yellow and had little kittens decorating them. How sweet.

"So you found what you wanted?" he asked, walking beside Yao now as they headed towards the register. He nodded his head happily.

"Mhm, I've been meaning to get more of these because I write and draw so much! I'm glad I found them," Yao hummed, getting the pencils scanned and then paying for them. Ivan smiled at him, watching him pay.

"You like cute things, huh?" he mused, tapping his chin as they walked out of the little store. Yao nodded, smirking slightly.

"Why do you think I like you so much, eh?" Yao huffed, running a hand through his hair and carefully putting the pencils in the bag he had brought along with him. Ivan let out a squeak, covering his face in embarrassment for a moment. Yao chuckled, reaching up to ruffle Ivan's hair playfully.

"U-Uh, if you like cute things we could go look in a toy shop?" Ivan suggested quickly, trying to shake off his flustered attitude and ignore Yao's comment for now, which was what was making him flustered in the first place. Yao nodded (excitedly almost, Ivan noticed). Yao grabbed Ivan's hand once more, pulling him off towards the mall's toy store.

Ivan stumbled after Yao on the way there, as Yao was almost running to the toy shop like a small child. God, Yao was so cute Ivan felt like his heart was just going to explode at any second!

"Ah," Yao cooed, dropping Ivan's hand upon entry, placing both of his hands on his cheeks in awe, as if he had never been in a toy shop before. Ivan took a moment to catch his breath and as he looked up, Yao was already disappearing into an aisle. He shook his head, smiling softly and taking off after him.

Ivan found out that Yao's favourite animal was a cat from this little adventure in the shop, seeing as Yao stopped to look at about ten different cat plushes. He thought it was cute, though.

"I'll buy you one." he smiled, tilting his head in amusement. "Which one do you want?" Yao looked at him as if he was the best person alive, eyes glimmering childishly. He pointed to a somewhat large one, a cute cat with a yellow star on its chest. Ivan nodded and checked the price. It was a little more than he was willing to spend on a toy, but if it was for Yao, it would be worth it. Carefully, he lifted the one Yao pointed to from its shelf, and then carried it to the checkout area.

Ivan felt a bit uncomfortable, having to stand in line with a large cat toy, with mothers staring at him strangely from a distance. It was certainly strange to see such an intimidating guy standing in a toy store with a cat plush, and a young man beside him who was most likely considering just taking the cat from Ivan now and hugging it lovingly. Soon enough it was their turn, Ivan paid, and they left the store. Ivan gave Yao the cat, and Yao hummed happily, hugging it to his chest.

"So," he murmured after a few moments, shyly playing with some strands of his platinum blond hair. "What now?"

Yao shrugged, observing the cat as if it was a prized possession.

"We could just go for walk, yeah? Get to know each other more, or something." Yao suggested, looking to Ivan and raising a brow. The taller of the two nodded, reaching for Yao's hand to start walking. Ivan liked the way Yao's hand felt in his, it was really small and soft compared to his. It made him feel as if he was to be Yao's guardian or something like that. It was a nice feeling, basically.

The pair walked aimlessly around the mall, asking each other silly trivial questions about each other. It was a nice change of pace for Ivan. Never had someone asked him questions like this, and it made him somewhat sad that he'd never had conversations like this before. Time passed, and Yao announced that he should probably go home and study. Ivan smiled and nodded, happy with the amount of time they had spent with each other.

He offered to walk Yao home, and Yao accepted.

As they stood in front of the front gate of Kiku's house, Ivan glanced around nervously. Yao was not letting go of his hand and looking up at him expectantly. Was he supposed to do something? Had he done something wrong? He was starting to panic. Yao seemed to notice that Ivan had become kind of jumpy. Ivan looked down at him worriedly, seeming to grow more worried when Yao dropped his hand and moved his arm to wrap his arm around his neck.

He leant up hesitantly, just brushing his lips against Ivan's cheek and then pulling away quickly.

"Have a nice afternoon, Ivan," he giggled, poking Ivan's cheek and going to move into the front yard with his cat plush. "Call me again soon, okay?"

Ivan nodded dumbly, blushing furiously because Yao had kissed his cheek. He really did not know how he was going to handle himself when they actually kissed properly for the first time. He'd probably pass out mid-kiss or do something really embarrassing. He waved shyly, and then turned off to head home.

Well, Ivan evaluated the day as being a pretty good day over all, overlooking the little thing with Gilbert which had made him feel pretty down for a long duration of the date.

But it had been okay, because Yao had been there.


End file.
